Cake in progress

I am up to my neck in cake over here. Remember when I posted about this Leah Rosenberg cake? I'm in the process of creating my own version for Cory's Alice show tomorrow night. Mine will only be 5 layers instead of 10, but I hope just as pretty. I had originally intended to do the full 10 layer version, but reality has set in and it has become apparent that it's just not going to happen. Just to make the 5 layer version, I need 10 lbs of butter, 5 dozen eggs, and 80 oz. of sour cream, not to mention a ton of flour and sugar.

This is in between framing 28 pieces on my living room floor, making garland, and hunting down non-existent white pumpkins. 

Posts will be a bit light today and tomorrow, but I'll be back with recaps of the show next week. Better yet, come out and see it for yourself!

Alice, opening reception

Friday, October 1, 6-9 pm

Art & Light Gallery at Flatiron Studios

1211 Pendleton Street, Greenville, SC 29611

photo from 18 Reasons' facebook album

Caramel Sauce

This caramel sauce comes together in a snap! Perfect for when that caramel craving hits you and you must have some right this second.

Caramel Sauce

4 T. salted butter
1 c. brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 c. half and half 
1 T. vanilla

In a small saucepan, combine butter, sugar, and half and half. Cook over medium-high heat until mixture boils, stirring constantly. Continue cooking and stirring for 5 minutes. Add vanilla, mix well and cook for 1 more minute. Remove from heat, let cool.  Pour into a glass jar and refrigerate. Yield: 1 1/4 cups. Enjoy!

Don't worry about the sauce thickening too much while it's cooking, it will set up while it's cooling.  Just warm it in the microwave to get it back to a pourable consistency.

* adapted from this PW recipe

Alice

If you're anywhere near Greenville, please join us this Friday night for Cory's new art show, Alice.

Alice by Cory Godbey is a new art exhibition of paintings, prints, and drawings based on Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. Please join us for the opening reception at Art & Light Gallery on Friday, October 1 from 9 - 9 pm.

You can see some of the preliminary work in his Alice sketchbook, see it here. The final work will be revealed at the show... it's astoundingly beautiful, a feast for the eyes!

Art & Light Gallery at Flatiron Studios is located at 1211 Pendleton Street, Greenville, SC 29611

It's going to be a magical evening, and I will be serving up some rainbow cake. Please come!

Weekend Glimpse

Cookies on a rainy evening = perfection

Enjoying the first chill of fall with a stroll by the river

Cory had just taken a sip of scalding hot coffee... hehehe.

Working a fun project, details to come.

Not pictured:

- movie night (The Town)

- sleepy Saturday morning

- sweet housewarming party for a sweet friend

- Sonny's BBQ (I have an unholy love for it)

- rain!

Ring Candy

Check out these stunning rings from Billy Bride Jewelry.  

I want one soooooo bad.

Gorgeous images from Billy Bride Jewelry, via this is glamorous.

Sweet Paul

Do you read Sweet Paul? If you don't, you are missing out. Sweet Paul is a delightful blog, (run by Paul, believe it or not) and this year he launched a web-a-zine (or whatever we are calling online publications). The Fall issue just came out, and it is GORGEOUS. I am in love with the styling, so clean and simple and easy on the eyes. It's mainly recipes, with some fantastic decor/design/entertaining thrown in. Check out a few of my favorite pages...

Pick yourself up from that puddle of drool and get yourself over there! Read the fall issue here and the blog here.

Al images via Sweet Paul Fall 2010 issue.

Hot Fudge Cake

Hot. Fudge. Cake. Need I say more? This moist and lucious cake makes it own sauce while it bakes. Tasty and talented!

This dessert is perfect for any time of year, great for fall and winter since it's served warm and perfect in summer with a side of ice cream. This is definitely one of my go-to recipes, it's always a crowd-pleaser. If we're at someone's house for dinner and I've been asked to bring dessert, I whip this up quick before we leave, grab some ice cream on the way, and pop into the oven when we arrive. By the time we've finished eating, it's done and ready for us to devour.

Hot Fudge Cake

1 c. flour
3/4 c. granulated sugar
6 T. baking cocoa powder, divided
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. milk
2 T. vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 3/4 c. hot water
vanilla ice cream

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, 2 T. cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Stir in milk, oil, and vanilla, mix until combined. Spread in an ungreased 9-10 square pan. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and remaining 4 T. cocoa, sprinkle over the top of cake batter. Pour hot water over all of it (do not stir) and bake for 35 minutes. Once baked, let the cake cool for 15 minutes, then serve warm with ice cream.

Note: Before it is baked, this cake looks very strange... all powdery on top with puddles of water. But do not be scared. Once it's in the oven, the magic happens. The hot water sinks down through all the layers and forms this rich fudgey sauce, the cake part stays very moist, and the top get's a little crunch from the sugar crust. It is perfection, you just have to trust it to get past the weird looking stage.

I may or may not have eaten this for breakfast the past two mornings.

Project List

Now that I have a little more free time, I'd like do a few fun projects. Though I suppose I should finish the dishes first.

3 step garden trellis from my home ideas via going home to roost  

This is a project for the spring: a trellis for my tomatoes.

You can make it too!

pussy willow branches from betz white via i can't remember

These cheerful pussy willow branches were intended for spring, but if you alter the colors for fall or winter, I think they'd be the perfect cool-weather decor!

Directions and sources here.

(sorry about the up-rezed photo... Blogger is being persnickety and I can't figure it out.)

DIY fire pit from the art of doing stuff via design*sponge 

This awesome little fire pit has already made the rounds, but it's so genius, I had to post it too. The idea of having it inside does worry me a little, so perhaps I should save this for my future patio.

Directions here!

birthday crown by denise sharp via the bedlam of beefy

Who wouldn't want to turn a year older with a luscious birthday crown atop their head! I need to make one of these.

Weekend Glimpse

I had a marvelously slow weekend... catching up on sleep, socializing, and lazing around.

I made James this house. He kinda likes it, because gold is his favorite color.

Why do something productive when you can make a cat house?

Sunday night cinnamon rolls. Some for me, some to share.

I let the weekend roll over into Monday, 

and spent the day hanging out with Heather 

and snuggling this nugget of joy.

Not pictured:

- laundry, finally

- hot fudge cake (recipe on Wednesday!)

- wedding planning, always fun

- salami sandwiches

ICP Thank You's

Indie Craft Parade photobooth, courtesy of Oh Snap! Photobooth

I'll be returning to my regular posting topics next week, and you won't hear of Indie Craft Parade for a little while, but I just wanted to do one last post to say thank you.

Thank you to our sponsors who made this whole event possible. Please tell them you appreciate their commitment to our arts community.

Thank you to our jury who had the difficult task of choosing the best artisans. (I can't even imagine how difficult their job will be next year.)

Thank you to our volunteers, who selflessly gave of their time to put up posters, help vendors unload, count our many attendees, hand out event maps, and many other tasks.

Thank you to my mom, who flew down for the week and did everything for me, from coordinating ICP to helping me clean my disaster of a home.

Thank you to the wonderful girls who helped Lib and I sew over 1400 feet of felt garland.

Thank you to the various people and businesses that helped us out at the last second just because they are fantastic. (ATM guys!)

Thank you to our food vendors for serving delicious food and being sweet.

Thank you to our musicians who played wondrous music for not very much money.

Thank you to everyone at the Peace Center, I can't imagine holding our first ICP anywhere else. You were all perfect to work with. Thank you to Bethany who saw our vision and helped us get everything started. Thank you to Carrie who made sure everything was done just as we dreamed, and who worked way more than she should have to help us. I think she is an angel. Thank you to Doug who spent hours on a ladder hanging garlands and banners for us as we said "a little to the left... no, back a little... a little to the right" and never once acted frustrated.

Thank you to our 77 artists who trusted us not to mess this whole thing up. You were all patient, kind, and just generally amazing. You are the reason ICP actually worked. I wish we could just get together and hang out!

Thank you to the 4000 people who came to ICP, waited in line without complaining, and supported our artists. You made my day. You made my year. You are the reason my face still hurts from smiling.

Thank you to the best co-founder and partner anyone could ask for, Libby. This whole crazy business would have never happened without her. Thank you for your beautiful design work, for making sense of my ramblings, and for making the endless hours of work fun. Thank you for being optimistic, dedicated, and a gem of a person. I just adore you, dear friend.

Thank you to my darling husband. You were the one that said "Go for it!" and believed in me. Thank you for drawing all the little things I asked you to, for your great ideas, for waiting up for me when I was still working at 4 am. You are the reason I was able to do this in the first place, and you made it happen by supporting me. Thank you for putting up with me when I was running around and acting like a crazy person. You are my everything, and I love you.

If I forgot somebody, I'm sorry. My brain is still recovering. Just know that I am grateful.

***

Don't forget to check out the photobooth gallery and our Flickr group!

ICP Food & Music

We had some of the most amazing food vendors at Indie Craft Parade. They were so wonderful to work with and kept our crowd fed and happy!

The Bavarian Pretzel Factory - a family-run traditional European bakery. These people are amazing, happy, and make delicious food at a great price. They're located right by the Target on Woodruff Rd, so if you're in Greenville, please check them out!

FiggyWhigs Cupcakes - the best cupcakes in the world. Order them for a party or just for you, and get them at the Children's Museum cafe.

O Cha Tea Bar - a wonderful independent tea bar located in downtown Greenville by the Reedy River. They serve all sorts of teas, along with pastries and they are now selling Sweeteeth chocolate!

Also, a HUGE thank you to the downtown branch of Atlanta Bread... they provided snacks, breakfast, and lunch for all our vendors!

***

We had some fantastic musicians play for us! 

• Friday 6 - 9  pm - Those Lavender Whales
• Saturday 9 - 11 am - Jay Albright
• Saturday 11 am - 1 pm - Will Gibbs
• Saturday 1 - 3 pm - Esther Ellis
• Saturday 3 -5 pm - Matt and Erin Bainton

If you forgot to pick up these great CD's, visit their respective websites to get one!

Favorite ICP Booths

I wanted to highlight a few of my personal favorites from Indie Craft Parade, ones that didn't get featured yesterday.

Bess Whittington - gorgeous fiber creations

foundling - resin jewelry with old paper

Joretta Natural Knits - sweet knitted baby things

Fox to the Opera - fabric jewelry

Rachel Feece - carved porcelain mugs, dishes, and vases

(her glazes must have been made just for me)

My ICP Purchases

I could have bought something from each and every artist at Indie Craft Parade and been perfectly happy, but alas, my pockets are not that deep. Here's a look at the treats I managed to bring home:

clockwise, from left:

• notepad and card by Jane Hancock Papers
• postcards by Ragamuffin Press
• soap by Daisycakes Soap
• handwoven scarf by Teri Goddard Handweaving
• bunnies and embroidered produce bag by Three Bad Seeds
• chocolate bars by Sweeteeth
• necklace by Ashley Buchanan
• cards by pretty.simple.things
• felted bracelet by Involution Design
• octopus cat toy by Finklestein's Center
• kitty squid by canoo
• apron and hand towels by Going Home to Roost
• erudite necklace by Floridity

I could do a separate post about how much I love every single item, but I'll just highlight a few. Just know that you should be very jealous of me and go out and purchase everything for yourself. Right now.

I am in love with this erudite necklace by Floridity. I am wearing it right now. It is my new best friend.

These are quite possibly the best cat toys in the world. The octopus is by Finklestein's Center and it is soft and light and perfect for little feline paws. The kitty squid is by canoo and it is a nice size and really well made, sturdy enough for a good fight.

Chocolate bars by Sweeteeth... there are no words. If the streets of heaven were paved with chocolate, it would be made by Sweeteeth. I got the "Sea is for Caramel" and the "A'Chocolypse," and let me say this: I cannot go another year without this chocolate in my life. I will be ordering some in the very near future, as should you. It is worth the price and the shipping, I would pay more if necessary. UPDATE: O Cha in Greenville is now carrying Sweeteeth! My prayers have been answered!

I got this beautiful felted and stitched bracelet from Involution Design and I intended to give it as a gift, but as soon as I slipped it on my wrist, it was mine. I wish I had every one of her pieces.

These may be my most favorite find, bunnies by Three Bad Seeds. Cory is completely obsessed with them. (I realize it's a little odd for a grown man to be enamored with a stuffed animal, he's a bit crazy and we all know it.) They are soft, perfectly made, and designed marvelously. Best of all, they make me smile.

This hand-cut enameled necklace was crafted by Ashley Buchanan, and I am in awe of her talent. Not only is she sweet and delightful, she creates these gorgeous silhouette designs out of hand-cut brass. I'm pretty sure she should just give me everything she's ever made.

These hand towels and apron were made by Going Home to Roost, and I just adore them. The owl towel and apron are a gift for a friend, but the fawn is all mine. One of the best parts of Indie Craft Parade was meeting all the artists, and Bonnie was one person I was really looking forward to seeing in person. She's my blog hero, and after reading her posts and emailing back and forth, I felt like I knew her, but it was so great to meet in person! My only regret is that we didn't have a whole afternoon to hang out and chat.

So there you have it, my treasures. What did you get at Indie Craft Parade?

Weekend Glimpse

My weekend was amazing.

The crowd at Indie Craft Parade (Saturday, near closing time)

The line waiting to get in on Friday night.

Photo by Brittany Hildreth

I'm still recovering from all the awesomeness, but I'll be back with some recaps tomorrow.

TODAY

Today is the day. Be there, or else!

ICP Giveaways

Just wanted to remind you that Friday night at Indie Craft Parade is giveaway night! We have tons of beautiful items donated by our exhibitors, and you could win them. Here's a little preview of just a few of the goodies up for grabs:

And that's just a taste, there's so much more to be given away! So come to Indie Craft Parade on Friday night, see the rest of the lovelies up for grabs, and enter to win! Winners will be announced at 8:30 pm, and must be present to win.